


Alfons and Alphonse

by xslytherclawx



Series: Shamballa 'verse [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-28
Updated: 2010-02-28
Packaged: 2017-12-26 15:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alfons is a lot more like Edward's brother than he's willing to admit.</p><p>(originally written in February 2010 and posted on FF.Net; revised September 2013)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alfons and Alphonse

**Author's Note:**

> edited from the original version on FF.Net to fit within my Shamballa verse here.

Alfons Heiderich was much more like Alphonse Elric than Edward was willing to admit.

There were the superficial things, of course. Like the fact that they looked almost identical – save the fact that Alfons had light blond hair and green-blue eyes – whereas Alphonse had light brown hair and hazel eyes. They were both taller than Edward (even in their childhood, Alphonse – who was a year younger – had almost always been his height or a little bit taller, not that Ed would ever admit it).

Then, there were the undeniable facts. They were both loyal, and generally nice and patient – though if you got them angry, well, they weren't quite as bad as Edward, but they still were something to be reckoned with. They both loved science – Alfons loved physics, mechanics, and rocketry, while Alphonse loved alchemy, but the difference didn't matter much to Edward; alchemy didn't exist in this world, after all. When they loved something – or someone – they were absolutely passionate about it, putting everything they had into it… even if it killed them.

This, of course, wasn't to mention that they could both put up with Edward for extended periods of time – which was certainly no easy feat. Sure, Ed could tell that he drove them both absolutely _crazy_ sometimes – but his... roommate? friend? and his brother were the only people that could put up with him so…  _well_. Mustang would smirk and give some snide remark, and even Winry was more than prone to be annoyed with him. Alfons and Alphonse did no such thing. They indulged him. Alfons let Edward ramble on about his world – even if they both knew that Alfons didn't believe him. Alphonse put up with Ed's rants and fighting – and held him back when he needed it.

There were the little things, too; the things that Ed wasn't so sure about – and if he _were_ sure, these were the things that he tried to deny. They both had a soft spot for stray animals – especially cats. Ed had always known that about Alphonse – but after about a week of living with Alfons, his friend brought home a half-starved kitten. Ed had denied the similarity at first – because they looked alike, surely, and they even acted similar, but _this_ … this was almost a cruel mockery. Alfons commented on how his older brother had never been fond of cats, and had complained when their parents had let Alfons bring strays home.

"What happened to your brother?"

Ed had known at once that he'd said the wrong thing, because Alfons stiffened. "He died. A few years ago. He went to England, and he never came back."

England? Wasn't that where Edward had come over? If Alfons looked so much like Alphonse, suppose that Alfons's brother looked like him, which would mean… no. Edward wasn't going to consider that possibility. So Ed muttered an apology, meaning it. There had been a time when he couldn't imagine life without Alphonse – but now… it was hard. He couldn't imagine what Alfons must be going through – because at least Ed had hope that  _his_  brother was  _alive_ , even if he was somewhere where Ed may not be able to reach him.

There were things that Ed didn't notice – some of them, traits that he  _refused_  to notice. The way Alfons's voice fluctuated when he was excited was so _close_ to the way Alphonse's voice had risen and fallen when he had been excited back in Amestris. The indulging look on Alfons's face when Edward told stories of back home was nearly identical to the one Alphonse had worn when they were younger and Edward had some insane theory. Once, Alfons had slipped when he was half-passed out from a night at the Beer Hall – and had called Edward "Bruder." Edward had been too drunk himself to remember, but the next morning, he was certain that Alfons called him "Edoo-art" rather than "Edvahrt" – a small difference that he would later forget.

When Edward had hesitantly asked Alfons about his childhood, Alfons had given him a  _very_  brief summary: his father left to fight in the war in 1914, when he was six, and had come home in a casket; his mother had died of the Spanish Influenza in 1918, when he was eight, and his brother – whose name he would not mention – had left for England in 1915. 

Then he mentioned his childhood nurse's daughter.

Wilhelmine Raskoph – who was _incredibly_ pretty – dark blonde hair and light brown eyes – and had always had the attention of both Alfons and his brother. Her mother had come under his parents' employ when his brother was born; she had stayed in their employ, and been nurse to Alfons and his brother both, until she died in the Influenza outbreak. Wilhelmine's father had gone to fight in the war in 1915; they never even found his body. Wilhelmine had never been fond of the behaviour that was expected of girls, Alfons stressed. She was pretty, and kind, but she had a temper that was only comparable to his brother's – and Edward's, now that he thought on it – and she loved science more than any girl should have.

"That was what drew me to her," Alfons mused. "After... our mothers died... I begged my uncle to let her come with me, here. She actually lives in the city, still. She's going to Gymnasium, and... if it weren't for me, she'd be lucky if she ended up in an orphanage."

"Seems like an awful lot of work for a friend," Ed said, but he understood.

"She would have done the same for me, if our positions were reversed." He shrugged. "I can't help but wonder what would've happened if the war had never broken out, or if Germany, at least, had never gotten involved.

Alfons abruptly stood up and went off to his room at that point, returning with a picture. In it were two boys; Alfons was immediately recognisable, although he can't have been older than seven or eight, and the boy who was standing next to him looked to be around fourteen or so, with slightly darker hair and darker eyes than Alfons had, but there was still a noticable resemblance. Behind them were their parents; a fair-haired woman with light eyes and a friendly face, and a tall, straight-backed man with dark hair and dark eyes. Their clothes were almost absurdly fancy, and the man was in military dress.

"That's my brother and I with our parents. It's the only picture I have of my family together."

It was unnerving; Alfons had looked just like Alphonse… and his brother…

It was almost like looking at a picture of his own childhood. Even the woman, if he looked hard enough, looked like a fairer Trisha, and the man... well, he didn't look  _exactly_ like Hohenheim, but there  _was_ a definite resemblance.

He bit his tongue and refused to comment on it, other than, "You looked happy."

"We were," Alfons replied with a nostalgic half-smile. "This was taken in 1913… the war hadn't happened yet. Our family was still whole."

The way that Alfons talked about his brother – the reverence and the love – reminded Edward all too much of Alphonse.

It was torture, living with someone who wasn't his little brother, but at the same time,  _was_ … but he couldn't leave. He had a feeling that Alfons felt the same way, more or less, about him.

"His name was Eduard," Alfons said one day, seemingly out of nowhere. He pronounced "Eduard" differently from how he pronounced Ed's name; it was "Edoo-art" rather than "Edvahrt".

"Huh?"

"My brother. His name was Eduard. He looked a lot like you, too. He had shorter hair, and he was a little taller, and his eyes were brown, but he looked like you."

Sometimes, Edward couldn't take the similarities between Alfons and Alphonse.

**Author's Note:**

> ugh the revision of this was more in-depth than I'd originally thought, but whatever.  
> You can find my study on Wilhelmine [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/850111/chapters/1624850).
> 
> Original on FF.Net [[x](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5783742/1/Alfons-and-Alphonse)]


End file.
